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Jurgen Klopp Rejected The Chance To Replace Sir Alex Ferguson At Manchester United

Jurgen Klopp Rejected The Chance To Replace Sir Alex Ferguson At Manchester United

Ferguson retired at the end of the 2012/13 season and approached the then Borussia Dortmund manager about replacing him.

Jurgen Klopp is already a Liverpool legend for bringing so much success back to Anfield, but things could have been very different, if he hadn't turned down the chance to manage Manchester United.

Klopp's spell as Liverpool boss has already seen the club capture a sixth Champions League trophy and their first ever Premier League title, and first league win in 30 years.

With the continued brilliance of the team, in results and performances, there's no doubt that whenever the German calls time on his time with the Reds he'll be considered one of their greatest.

Klopp nearly didn't have the chance to become Liverpool manager though, as he could have been in charge of their rivals United in 2013.

It will only make him more of a legend at Anfield that he turned down the chance to replace Sir Alex Ferguson, when the Scotsman retired in 2013.

"We spoke," Klopp told Sky Sports in 2016 of a conversation he had with Fergie, "We spoke not a lot but, for me, it was a lot.

"It was a big honour, the whole talk, to be honest. But I could not leave Dortmund.

Klopp hadn't finished with his Borussia Dortmund project when Fergie spoke to him. Image: PA Images
Klopp hadn't finished with his Borussia Dortmund project when Fergie spoke to him. Image: PA Images

"You are in April and you are in the middle of the planning for next season. You have this player and this player who are coming but then you are not there anymore? That doesn't work. Not in my life.

"I didn't hear about a real offer [from United] but, if there was, I could not have done it. I first had to finish the job with Dortmund and then think about other things.

"Maybe that is not smart but that is my way. It was the same at Mainz."

Things might have been very different at Liverpool. Image: PA Images
Things might have been very different at Liverpool. Image: PA Images

The following season, Klopp finished runner up in the Bundesliga with Dortmund, for the second year in-a-row, whilst United finished seventh under David Moyes.

Instead of moving to United, Klopp renewed his deal in Germany for a further four years but didn't actually finish the job, leaving the club two years after, with the team in seventh.

United have never really recovered from the 54-year-old turning them down and last week sacked Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, their fourth permanent manager since 2013.

They'll be hoping that signing Ralf Rangnick, the man thought to have started the Gegenpress that Klopp so brilliantly implements, will finally bring some success back to Old Trafford.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Premier League, Manchester United, Liverpool, Jurgen Klopp, Sir Alex Ferguson, Borussia Dortmund